Crossbody Hipster--the long awaited and not forgotten...TUTORIAL!

Last summer, as I was contemplating our vacation, I decided to make myself a crossbody hipster type of bag.  I had a number of people ask for a tutorial and well, sadly, I am just now getting to it! 

NOTE TO SELF:

If you decide to use your own bag for display, expect someone to ask if it's for sale.  Yup, I sold my crossbody bag so now I need another one! 

If you'd like to make one for yourself, here are the detailed with full photo instructions.  :)  If you would like to have one and don't know how to sew, I accept custom orders!  These sell for $25 in my etsy shop!.

Materials needed:

1/2 yd of outer fabric


1/3 yd of lining fabric

1   12” zipper to match outer fabric

Coordinating thread

1/3 yd fusible fleece

1/3 yd of fusible heavyweight interfacing (optional)

NOTE:

*(I interface my lining with heavyweight fusible interfacing just for a bit more added stability. You really don’t HAVE to interface the lining though. Fusible fleece is pretty stiff all by itself!
Directions

1. Cut from the fabric and interfacing...

2 outer fabric (your choice) 8 ½” x 10 ½” or 9 ½” x 11 ½”

2 inner fabric to the same that you choose above.

2 fusible fleece to match the outer fabric size

2 fusible heavyweight interfacing (optional)

2 outer fabric pocket pieces 2” shorter than your outer pieces. So 6 ½” x 10 ½” or 7 ½” x 11 ½”

2 lining fabric pieces 6 ½” x 10 ½ or 7 ½ x 11 ½

2 outer fabric 1 ½” x 44”

Interface the 2 outer fabric pocket pieces

2. Iron your interfacing to your pieces per the manufacturer’s directions.

-Cut a 1” square from each corner of the bottom of all four rectangles and all four pocket pieces.

3. Assemble the pockets (or do one pocket if you prefer)

-With right sides together, sew along the length of the fabric on the side that does not have the squares cut out.

-Turn right side out and iron seam flat. Pin in place and topstitch along the same seam.



-Pin your completed pocket to one of the outer fabric pieces with the raw edges touching. The right side of the fabric should be facing outward. Baste stitch along the bottom to hold pocket in place.

-Measure from side to side of the pocket with a tape measure to mark a middle point on your pocket. Repeat this step one inch above the mark to make another mark. Draw a line using these two marks as a guide, from top to bottom of the pocket piece. Sew down this line creating your two pockets. Backstitch at each end a few times. The more support the better!

4. Assemble the handle
-Fold over about ½” on the long side of a handle piece and press all the way down the length of the handle.

-Do the same for the other side.

-Fold the strap in half length wise and pin in place. The strap is very skinny so this can be awkward.

-Sew all the way down the open side of EACH handle. You should have two long skinny straps.

-As you near the end of each strap piece, gently unfold the end as you see in the series of photos. 

fold a short end of the handle piece over ½”.  Sew this seam in place. You only need to do this to one side of each handle as the raw side will be sewn into the bag. Follow these same directions for the second handle piece.

**If you prefer, you can fold and sew the short ends down before you press the length of the handles.  I chose to do it this way because of a lack of time**



5. Attaching the zipper

-You’re going to make a fabric/zipper sandwich. Lay one of your outer pieces right side up. Lay your zipper on top, with right side of zipper facing downward as shown in the photo. Take your one lining piece of fabric and lay it on top of the zipper right side down. Pin all three in place.

-NOW you have a zipper sandwich. You can use a regular foot or a zipper foot but sew close to the zipper teeth. (If you get too close, your zipper gets snagged on the fabric, if you get too far, it won’t catch all the fabric layers…it can be tricky, but just keep at it!)

-Pull the outer fabric and lining fabric away to reveal your zipper on the inside. Pin the fabrics back and away from the zipper, and together. Top stitch along the zipper with 1/8” seam allowance. This makes it look much nicer and holds that outer fabric down. Follow these same steps for the other two pieces of fabric.

6. Assembling the Bag.

Don’t forget to unzip your zipper before this next part!
-Pull the outer fabric pieces away from the lining. Pin the outer fabric pieces in place with right sides together. Now pin your lining pieces together. You should have a long rectangle with your zipper in the middle.

-Pin one end of one handle just below the zipper between the two outside fabric pieces. Sandwich the rest of the handle between the two pieces of fabric well within the edges of the bag so as not to get them caught in your machine while sewing the edges down later. Take the other strap and pin it in place on the other side of the zipper between the two outer fabric pieces. Be sure to sandwich this strap nicely between the two outer fabric pieces. As you can see in the photo below, I also angle the strap up towards the zipper.

*NOTE*

(When I pin the straps, I let them fall out the bottom of the lining pieces because this is where I will leave the hole in the lining for turning later)

-Start at the bottom of the lining, about 2” away from the corner. Begin sewing all the way around the bag. I backstitch at the beginning a couple times.

-When sewing over the zipper and handle, I stitch back and forth 5-6 times for stability.

-The bottom, top and sides should be secure now but you should have 4 squares still open at each corner of the bag. Pull the two fabrics away from each other and line up the edges. You should have a straight line instead of a square now. Pin and sew this in place.

-Repeat previous step for the other three squares.

-Trim excess seam allowance from all four corners and along the sides.  Be sure not to clip into the seam itself!!

-Pull the body of the bag, straps and everything through the hole in the lining. Give the bag a good once over for any places you might have missed the fabric.

 If all is as you want it to be, pin the hole in the lining and tuck it into the bag. VOILA!!

A Crossbody Hipster!